338 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



uniformly coloured, generally smoky-green; 

 in some specimens olive-green, in others 

 smoke-coloured, with scarcely a perceptible 

 shade of green : on the dorsal surface of each 

 segment are two somewhat distant conspicuous 

 markings of an intense velvety black: the 

 figure of each of these markings is that of a 

 longitudinally elongated square or parallelo- 

 pipedon, its limits always clearly defined but 

 not very regular ; near the head these markings 

 become narrower or more linear, and the pair 

 on the twelfth segment are also narrow and 

 placed obliquely; the legs are red-brown and 

 very shining. 



These caterpillars feed on the fescue-grass 

 (Festuca, ovina), several species of hawk-weed 

 (Hieracium), sun cistvtti(Cistus helianthemuni), 

 wild thyme (Thymus Serpyllum}, devil's bit 

 scabious (Scabiosa succisa ), golden rod(/Solidago 

 Virgaurea), burnet (Poterium Sanguisorba), 

 &c. ; and in confinement revel on sallow (Salix 

 caprea), especially the catkins. They feed by 

 night only, and bury themselves in the earth 

 by day ; they were full-fed and finally dis- 

 appeared beneath the earth on the 8th of May. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in August, 

 and hitherto has only been taken in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Llangollen, in North Wales. 

 (The scientific name is Agrotis Ashworthii). 



545. The Lesser Broad-Border (Tryphcena ianthina) . 



545. THE LESSER BROAD-BORDER. In all 

 the "yellow underwings" the palpi are in- 

 conspicuous; theantennse in both sexes simple, 

 and the fore wings rather narrow and rather 

 elongate ; the hind wings are very ample ; in 

 the Lesser Broad-Border the colour of the fore 

 wings is rich brown, glossed and tinted with 

 purple reflections ; the costa is very pale at 

 the base, the pale portion being confined to a 



mere marginal line : there are three delicate 

 clouds of a gray tint descending from the costa 

 obliquely towards the middle of the wing, and 

 nearer the tip of the wing is a transverse 

 series of pale spots parallel with the hind 

 margin ; these are generally not more than 

 three or four in number, and are confined to 

 the costal portion of the wing ; the discoidal 

 spots are imperfectly indicated by portions of 

 a gray outline: the hind wings are bright 

 orange in the middle, and on the hind margin, 

 and black at the base ; they have also a broad 

 waved band of intense black parallel with the 

 hind margin : the head and collar are very 

 pale, the thorax and body are rich brown, with 

 a vinous tint. 



The CATERPILLAR is by no means common ; it 

 occurs sometimes at the roots of polyanthuses 

 and other garden plants, concealing itself by 

 day and feeding by night; it eats into th>- 

 crown, and also feeds on the leaves of these 

 and other garden plants : the head is smaller 

 than the second segment, and very shining ; 

 the body obese, smooth, and velvety ; the 

 colour of the head is dull testaceous-brown, 

 of the body dingy ochreous, with a paler 

 narrow medio-dorsal stripe on each side of each 

 segment after the seventh, and there are two 

 conspicuous black spots on each side of the 

 ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth segments , 

 the ventral is paler than the dorsal surface, 

 and the legs and claspers are concolorous. The 

 egg is hatched in the autumn, and the cater- 

 pillar feeds through the winter, and is full-fed 

 in April and May, when it buries itself just 

 below the surface of the earth, and changes to 

 a smooth red-brown CHRYSALIS. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and 

 occurs in most of our English, Scotch, and 

 Irish counties. Mr. Reading says it is com- 

 mon throughout Cornwall and Devonshire ; ' 

 and going thence northward and eastward, I i 

 find the name in almost every local list. (The * 

 scientific name is Tryphcena ianthina.} 



Obs. The colour of the fore wings is 

 remarkably rich and attractive, and is less 

 liable to vary than in any other species of the 

 genus Tryphcena. 



